Heart of the Team
by darkgirl11
Summary: Clint was away on a mission for a while and the only thing keeping him sane was knowing that Bucky was at home waiting for him. But when he gets home early, he catches Bucky cheating on him with another man. It was a moment of weakness for Bucky and it broke Clint. Now, Bucky must get him back and the team must help fix Clint. Winterhawk & Stony and Bruce/Natasha! Lil team fluff!


_Heart of the Team_

Summary: Clint was away on a mission for a while and the only thing keeping him sane was knowing that Bucky was at home waiting for him. But when he gets home early, he catches Bucky cheating on him with another man. It was a moment of weakness for Bucky and it broke Clint. Now, Bucky must get him back. Winterhawk & some Stony! Lil team fluff!

Heart of the Team

"Hawkeye, look out!"

Clint managed to dive out of the way, narrowly missing getting hit by a missile aimed at his nest. He quickly got back up and fired an explosive arrow at the man who fired the missile at him, killing the man. Clint ducked down and pulled out a picture of him and his lover, Bucky. How Clint wished to be with him now. Clint had been gone for three months and he longed to be with Bucky again.

All around him there was screaming and blood. Clint didn't want that right now. He missed Bucky deeply and wanted nothing more than to be reunited with him. Sure, he had Natasha with him but she couldn't compare to his lover. The mission was to take down one of Hydra's bases after going undercover and getting as much information out of the organization as possible.

Clearly, the plan had been uncovered and Natasha was setting off explosions within the base while Clint covered her when she set more bombs outside the base. He put the picture of Bucky away while whispering, "I'll be home soon, Buck…" He shot back up and provided cover for his partner, making sure she could get out of there safely. Clint shot a grappling arrow and zip lined his way off the building to meet up with Natasha, who was running into the forest now.

He caught up to her and looked at her with a cocked eyebrow as if to say, _what are you waiting for? Light em up._ Her eyes sparked with mischief as she gave him a smirk as if she replied with, _get ready for the fireworks._ She pressed a button on a remote she held in her pocket and the two turned around just in time to see the Hydra base explode, pieces of the building flying everywhere.

Clint and Natasha smiled at their work and then at each other. Clint let out a tired laugh and his partner gave it right back at him. It's been a long three months and they both just wanted to go home. They saw a SHIELD helicopter come down, the door opening for the two assassins to get in. The two grinned and took off in a run, jumping in and taking off. After the buckled up, Clint gazed out the window with a small smile.

"It's time to go home, Nat."

When the two got back to the city, the two made some stops to buy a few gifts for their lovers. Natasha bought Bruce some fancy chocolates and a new lab coat since his other one had seen better days. Clint was a little sillier with what he bought Bucky. He bought his boyfriend of two years a stuffed animal, Bucky the bear. But he bought Bucky's favorite flowers, kryptonite which were actually hard to find but Clint had his ways.

Clint had even wrote letters to Bucky that he never got the chance to mail since, well, he was undercover. The pair wanted to surprise their lovers with their early return, smiling like idiots as they entered the tower. It was late so they weren't expecting anyone to make a huge scene about them coming home. The two even raced up the stairs, wishing each other luck with their lovers when they departed.

The archer had a grin on his face as he walked over to his and Bucky's room. His heart was pounding, he was so excited to see his lover again. Just as he was going to reach for the door handle, Jarvis spoke to him almost in a whisper, "Agent Barton, I urge you not to enter the room at this time. I suggest you return at another time. Master Stark is in the lab if you wish to see him or-"

"No, thank you, Jarvis. I'm going to see Bucky."

"But-"

"I don't understand why you're being like this, Jarvis. I'm going to see-"

Just as he opened the door, he gasped, "Bucky…" Clint dropped everything in his hands and just stared at the sight in front of him. Bucky was naked and on top of another man, who was equally bare. Bucky just stared in shock at Clint, he honestly didn't know what to say. Tears streamed down his face. So this is why Jarvis was trying to get him not to go inside. Bucky was cheating on him.

"Clint, I-"

Bucky couldn't even finish his sentence because Clint had ran down the hall and over to the elevator. Bucky struggled to get pants on but when he was clothed enough, he sprinted down the halls and stopped Clint from going in the elevator. Clint pushed Bucky back, hissing at him, "Don't you _dare_ touch me, Bucky! I was out risking my life for three months and this… this is what I come home to?"

The elevator opened and Clint was going to step inside when Bucky grabbed his wrist to stop him. Bucky let out a deep breath before saying dumbly, "Clint, let me explain-" Clint glared at him and growled, "Explain what, Bucky? Explain why you couldn't wait for me to come home like I always wait for you when you're away for even longer sometimes? Explain why you fucking cheated on me?!"

Everything went quiet after that. The elevator door went to close but Clint stood in its path, causing it to stop and open again. Clint shook off Bucky's arm and looked away as he asked harshly, "Is he the only guy you slept with while I was gone?" Bucky found himself looking away as he answered, "No… I slept with two other guys before this one… Clint, please, I'm so sorry, really, I'm sorry. Please don't go… it was all a mistake…"

Clint stepped into the elevator, Bucky tried to follow but he found himself staggering backwards from a punch to the face from Clint. When he looked at the archer, he saw, what looked like, an endless amount of tears pouring down the blonde's face. It broke Bucky's heart to hear Clint say before the door closed, "I don't want to see you, Bucky, because I know you're only sorry you got caught…"

Bucky turned around to see the man he was about to sleep with walk by and glare at him before using the stairs to get out. Bucky walked back to his and Clint's room to find everything Clint had bought him on the floor in the doorway. He sat down in the doorway, resting his back on part of it while he picked up the stuffed bear. Bucky fought back the tears as he smiled sadly at it, Clint was always so silly.

But then he put the bear aside and picked up the flowers. Kryptonites were so hard to find in flower shops so that just proved that Clint went through the trouble to find him a bouquet of them. He put the flowers aside and picked up the letters on the floor. Bucky's breath hitched, Clint had wrote him letters while he was gone like he was a soldier overseas and Bucky was at home waiting for him to return. He opened the first letter.

 _Dear Bucky,_

 _I can't really mail these to you but I figured I could just write to you and you could read them when I come back. It's been a week since I left and I can't stop thinking about you. I miss you so much. I don't know how you did it in WWII, you know, being so far away. I don't know how soldiers did it back then… you know, being away from their loved ones and all. I've missed you since the moment you were out of my sight. I can't wait to see you again._

 _I love you, forever,_

 _Clint_

Bucky felt the tears welling up in his eyes as he grabbed the most recent letter Clint wrote. The tears just flowed down his face as he read it.

 _Dear Bucky,_

 _I don't know how much more of this I can take. I hate being so far away from you for so long. I hope you miss me because I miss you more and more every second. I can't wait to see the look on your face when I come home to you. I've missed your smile and just everything about you. I want to be in your arms again. You make me feel so safe, Bucky. I feel so comfortable, you know? When I'm in your arms, I know you love me and that you'll still be there when I wake up._

 _I can't wait to see you again. It's been too long since I held your hand and woke up in the same bed next to you… or even in a bed for that matter. But I really just miss you. It's hard for me to be so far away from you but it's probably hard for you, too. But don't worry, I'll be home soon._

 _I love you, forever,_

 _Clint_

Bucky clutched the letter in his hand and put his head back against the doorway and just cried. He had just made the biggest mistake of his life. He hurt the one thing that actually made him happy. Bucky's shoulders shook, it was a moment of weakness. He always thought of Clint when he was with the other guys. He just couldn't take being away from Clint for so long. But now he ruined everything.

The next morning, Bucky woke up to someone choking him. When he opened his eyes, Natasha was screaming down at him, "What the fuck is wrong with you?! Do you even know what you did to him?! I swear to God, Barnes, I am going to kill you for what you did to him! After everything he's been through, you have the nerve to fucking cheat on him when he's away! I should kill you right now!"

"D-Do it… I-I… I deserve i-it!"

"No shit you deserve it!"

Bucky found himself being released on the ground, gasping for air. He looked up to see an angry red head looking down at him. He managed to stand up, earning a punch to the face that knocked him back a few steps. She got close to him and hissed with venom in her voice, "It takes a lot for Clint to trust someone, let alone fall in love with them, and you just broke him. You better fix this, Barnes, or I will find you and I will kill you." And then he was alone. He slumped to the floor, how could he fix this?

Tony was walking down one of the halls when he heard loud music blaring. He stopped for a moment before asking, "Jarvis, where is the music coming from?" The billionaire was answered with, "The music is coming from one of your spare rooms. Down the hall, the last door on the left. Agent Barton is in the room. He seems very distressed." Tony nodded and walked down the hall to the room, listening to the music.

 _Say my name,_

 _Say my name._

 _If no one is around you,_

 _Say, "Baby, I love you,"_

 _If you ain't running game._

 _Say my name,_

 _Say my name,_

 _You acting kind of shady,_

 _Ain't callin' me baby,_

 _Why the sudden change?_

Tony knew that song. It was a song about a guy cheating and the girl knowing about it. Tony sighed before walking in and closing the door behind him. He turned to see Clint sitting against the wall with his knees to his chest, his face in his knees and his arms around his head to try to block out the world. He was sitting right next to a speaker with his phone plugged into it, playing the song on repeat.

He walked over to the archer and sat down in front of him, unsure of what to say since he didn't know what was wrong. But Clint was his best friend so he had to do something. Just as he was about to say something, he heard Clint's muffled voice, "I don't know what I did to deserve this… I've always been faithful and I never really asked for much… I don't like to let people in… they always hurt me in the end…"

Tony's eyes met with the floor as he asked, "Do you regret letting me in? I don't regret letting you in." Clint lifted his head up, he looked at his best friend with red eyes from crying as he answered softly, "No… no, I don't regret letting you in… I just…" Clint looked away as he continued, "I just wish I didn't let certain people in… I trusted him too much… I don't think I can ever love again after what he did to me…"

The next thing Clint knew, he was being pulled on his feet and dragged out of the room and to Tony's lab. When they got to the lab, Clint looked around at everything. Tony was making something new and apparently, it had something to do with him. Tony put on his suit and nodded at Clint to do the same. Once they were both in their battle gear, Tony handed him new gloves and boots with knee pads.

Before Clint could protest to anything, Tony cocked an eyebrow at him. Clint knew not to disagree with his best friend when he gave him that look so he put everything on and grabbed his bow and arrows. When he was ready, he looked at his friend and sighed, "Tony, I'm really not in the mood to play lab rat for you today so can we just do this some other time? Maybe in, like, a week or a month… or maybe even a year…"

"Have you ever seen Big Hero 6?"

"Uh… yeah? Why?"

"We're doing that today."

"What are you talking about?"

Tony grabbed his friend and took him to the top of the Avenger's Tower. When they reached their destination, Tony grabbed Clint's hands and lifted them up as he explained, "I put the strongest magnets in the world in your new gloves, boots, and knee pads so you can stay stuck on my back when I'm flying." Tony turned around and said over his shoulder, "It's either this or you'll be stuck on a building. Take your pick."

Clint nodded and put his hands on Tony's shoulders, instantly becoming attached to the metal. Then he put his knees to Tony's back and they, too, became attached. Once they were sure Clint was secure, Tony took off into the air. Clint's stomach felt like it dropped, flying like this actually made him feel alive. When Clint got the hang of things, he dared to remove his hands and shoot arrows at abandoned buildings.

Tony looked over his shoulder quickly and saw Clint smiling as he shot arrows. Tony looked forward again and took Clint all around the city. The genius was pleased with himself for finally allowing Clint some separation from his thoughts and also that his newest idea was a successful one. Now, Clint could have an even better view of the city and he could even help Tony and cover his blindsides.

When they got back to the tower, Clint hopped off of Tony and asked with a grin, "I wasn't too heavy for you, was I?" Tony removed his mask and shrugged, "It wouldn't kill you to lose a few pounds." The two laughed all the way back to his lab, jabbing at each other with fake insults just to make the other laugh more. Tony was planning on working on another invention for the rest of the night but he could have sworn Clint said something to him before they left.

"Thank you for today, Tony."

 _The Next Day…._

Clint avoided Bucky like the plague, staying in that room that only Tony knew about so far. Well, that was until Bruce got off on the wrong floor and didn't notice until he realized that the lab wasn't on this floor. He was headed down the hall back to the elevator when he heard a familiar old fashioned kind of tune coming from one of the rooms. He paused before walking over to the door and listening.

 _Jolene, Jolene,_

 _Jolene, Jolene…_

 _I'm begging of you,_

 _Please, don't take my man._

 _Jolene, Jolene,_

 _Jolene, Jolene…_

 _Please, don't take him,_

 _Even though you can._

Bruce wondered if he should go in, part of him didn't really want to but the Hulk was really pushing for him to go in there. He let out a deep breath before deciding to listen to the monster inside of him and opening the door. He closed the door behind him and looked over to see Clint the same way Tony found him the other day. Bruce awkwardly sat down in front of him, not knowing what to do.

Clint looked up at the scientist, tears falling down his already tear stained skin. Bruce could tell from the bags under his eyes that he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep last night and the red eyes showed he'd probably been crying like this for a while. He shifted himself awkwardly before asking, "So, I'm assuming you and Bucky got into a fight since you're down here… want to talk about it?"

"He cheated on me, Bruce."

"Wh-What?"

"My boyfriend of two years cheated on me when I was gone… more than once."

"I… I'm so sorry, Clint."

Bruce could tell that Hulk was angry, no, he was furious actually. Clint "Cupid" Barton was Hulk's favorite out of all the Avengers. If Clint was falling, Hulk would go out of his way to catch him and protect him. Clint was more fragile than everyone else so that made Hulk even more protective of him. Sometimes, Hulk would make Clint wrap his arms around his neck and shoot arrows awkwardly like that. It wasn't comfortable for Clint, but Hulk knew that Cupid would be safe.

Hulk wanted to destroy Bucky for hurting Clint. No one could make the archer cry and get away with it. Hulk stirred inside Bruce, but he managed to calm him down enough to focus more on Clint's well-being. Bruce moved a little closer to Clint and asked carefully, "You know what I do when I'm upset and I need to focus on something else? I go to the lab and I do math. It… it isn't what you'd probably like but it's better than this, right?"

Clint looked around the room, wondering if he should go with Bruce. But then, a hand was in his face and he looked up to see Bruce waiting for him to take it with a gentle smile on his face. Clint gave a small smile back before taking the hand and letting the scientist bring him to the lab so they could work on some math equations. When they got there, Tony was asleep in a chair in front of a Starkpad on the table.

The archer shook his head at the sight but then noticed Tony was working on the Iron Man-Hawkeye flying combo, causing a smile to etch onto his face. Clint sat down at a stool as Bruce stood in front of a whiteboard, an unsolved equation written on the board. Bruce looked stumped on it, and seeing him like that was rare since he was basically just as smart as Tony. If he couldn't get it, would Tony even get it?

Clint was looking all around the room until he finally stared at the whiteboard. There was all this math written on it that led up to this one equation Bruce seemed to have trouble solving. Clint gazed at the equation and then everything just clicked in his head. He walked over to the board and grabbed a marker but before he wrote anything, he looked at Bruce and questioned politely, "May I?"

Bruce smiled and nodded, thinking that it couldn't hurt to let Clint try. Bruce looked away for one second but his head snapped back to the board when he heard the marker get put down. Clint looked nervous and he kept rubbing his left elbow with his right hand, as if he was waiting for Bruce to tell him he did something wrong but he didn't. He had actually solved the equation that stumped Bruce.

"H-How did you do that?"

As Clint explained his thought process, Bruce stood there dumbfounded. Clint was a genius! Bruce just blinked repeatedly before he sat Clint down and made him take an IQ test, which he scored a 175 on. That was like Albert Einstein level of intelligence basically! For someone who never really went to school, Clint was intellectually gifted. The two spent the rest of the day solving equations, Bruce discovering that there was more to Clint than meets the eye.

When Tony woke up from sleeping, it was late in the night. He yawned and looked around to see Bruce and Clint surrounded by whiteboards with, what seemed like, endless math on them. Occasionally, they would nod at each other's work or fix something the other hadn't seen and Tony just stood there, confused until he saw the IQ test that Clint had taken. Tony looked up at his best friend and then back at the paper before looking at Clint again.

"You should come to the lab more often, Legolas."

 _The Next Day…._

Steve was walking to the lab to make sure Tony and Bruce got something to eat, but what he wasn't expecting was seeing Clint standing at a whiteboard solving another equation while Bruce and Tony were nowhere to be seen. But then, Steve could hear music playing as he walked into the lab. Clint didn't even turn to him, making him wonder if Clint had even heard him. But he stopped when he listened to the lyrics.

 _You grace me with your cold shoulder,_

 _Whenever you look at me,_

 _I wish I was her._

 _You shower me with words full of knives,_

 _Whenever you look at me,_

 _I wish I was her…_

What was the deal with that? Steve walked over to Clint and saw tears running down his face. Clint was crying and solving equations, both of which needed to stop. Steve pulled Clint away from the board and shut off the radio. He gently wiped the tears from the archer's face before asking in a calm tone, "What's gotten into you lately, Clint? You're never usually down here and I don't like seeing you like this. What's wrong?"

Clint shook his head and tried to slip by Steve but he felt a hand grab his wrist, and that's when the flashbacks came from that night when Clint tried to leave and Bucky grabbed his wrist. Clint instantly broke down in Steve's arms, sobbing into the taller male's chest. Steve didn't know what was going on but he made sure he wrapped his arms around the smaller male to provide comfort.

When it seemed like Clint was calming down, he would suddenly break down and start crying again. His shoulders would shake violently and his sobs would almost sound more like screaming than anything. Steve didn't know what else to do besides rub soothing circles on his back. He debated calling for Natasha but then, Clint just stopped. He heard a sniffle and then Clint hesitantly pulled away.

"Do you want to tell me what's wrong? I'd like to help."

"It's just that… well, Bucky-"

Clint was unable to finish his sentence since a loud explosion erupted from outside the tower. The two rushed to the nearest window and looked outside to see that Hydra was blowing up a building right next to the tower, probably hoping the building would fall over onto the tower to crush the Avengers while they were inside of it. Steve looked up and commanded, "Jarvis, tell the Avengers to assemble on the top of the tower, now!"

"Right away, Captain Rogers." 

In a few minutes, all the Avengers were on the top of the building. It was the first time Clint and Bucky were seen anywhere near each other since that night. Steve looked at the situation, Hydra planes were beginning to swarm the city from the skies as he ordered, "Iron Man and Thor, take out the planes. Hawkeye, I need eyes in the sky. The rest of us will need to remove people from the area and get Hydra out of our city."

Tony looked at Clint and the two nodded at each other, both of them running to the edge of the building and jumping off. Everyone rushed to the edge, hoping that Hawkeye would be okay and wonder why he jumped off until they saw Tony fly by them with Clint secure on his back. Everyone just looked at them in shock but Clint just saluted them and called as they flew by again, "Caw, caw, motherfuckers!"

Steve just stood there dumbfounded, he shook his head at the unusual pair before stating, "Let's go! We've got a city to save!" Hulk grabbed everyone except Thor and jumped off the building, landing less than gracefully on one of Hydra's trucks. He released his friends and proceeded with destroying anything Hydra. Thor swung his hammer a few times before taking off to join Tony and Clint in the skies.

Tony was taking care of enemies in front of him while Clint was taking down planes from the sides and occasionally some trying to sneak up behind them while also calling out strays or anything else to Cap. This was much more entertaining to Clint, being able to help more than he would be able to if he was standing on top of a building. He smiled as he took out an enemy to the left of Tony. They looked ridiculous but they made a good pair.

The three in the sky were making quick work of Hydra but that wasn't exactly the case from the ground. The building next to the Avenger's Tower was going to fall on top of the tower but Hulk and Steve were just barely managing to keep it steady while Bucky and Natasha handled any soldiers coming their way. Steve was slipping, causing the building to shift unevenly not in their favor, making Bucky join them to keep the building stable.

"Thor, we need you back here to help keep the building up, now!"

Thor quickly turned and flew straight for the building and that's when Tony was hit in the stomach by a Hydra gun, knocking Clint off of Tony's back and rendering Tony's suit useless. As Tony struggled to get his suit to work, Clint shot a grappling arrow at a building but he was falling so fast that it broke. Then it dawned upon Tony, he would be fine because the Iron Man suit would protect him but Clint had no armor. He would probably die.

As Thor helped put the building back into place, Hulk looked up and pointed, "Cupid falling!" Everyone looked up to see Clint and Tony falling from the sky, but they could see that Tony was desperately trying to get to his friend. Hulk growled and was about to jump to save them when a tank shot at him, forcing him to deal with the tank. Bucky sprang into action and plowed his way through the Hydra soldiers. He couldn't let Clint die.

Steve was right behind him, ready to catch Tony. The soldiers ran as fast as they could, it was going to be a close one. The two gave it their all and dove in for the catch. Bucky and Clint rolled around a lot, likewise with Steve and Tony but they had made the catch nonetheless. When they stopped rolling, Clint was on top of Bucky and Tony was on top of Steve, smiling like an idiot under the mask.

Clint and Bucky looked into each other's eyes and for that moment, nothing but each other mattered. Clint looked deep into those once cold Winter Soldier eyes and found nothing but love and sadness. Bucky still loved him and felt bad about what he had done and Clint could clearly see that. Bucky looked into Clint's eyes and whispered, "You can hate me all you want, but I won't let you fall…"

Before Clint could say anything, he was grabbed and dragged over to the other Hydra soldiers. The Avengers were up and together in a second, furious that they would try to take Clint. They watched as the soldiers put Clint's hands behind his back and handcuffed him, thinking he would be less of a problem to deal with. Clint and Natasha smirked at each other, they knew handcuffs were useless on him.

Clint looked at the soldiers around him, there were about five of them around him and he knew he could take the last of them by himself. He turned to the soldier that cuffed him and rolled his shoulders a few times as if he was warming them up before he asked, "You wanna see something either wicked cool or wicked disturbing?" The soldier didn't answer but he watched as Clint was able to lift his arms up and have them back in the front like normal.

"You see, I'm double jointed so handcuffs don't work on me."

Before the soldier could do anything, Clint hit him in the face with his double handcuffed fists and then kicked him to the ground. One of them shot at him, but he rolled out of the way and double punched another one in the face before grabbing his head and pulling it down to knee him in the face, knocking him unconscious at the force of the attack. Two down, three more to go.

One of the remaining three ran at him but Clint did a back hand spring and kicked him to the ground during the jump kick. The other two ran at him at the same time, thinking they could overwhelm him. Clint smirked and dodged a punch, while that man was slightly lowered from the punch, Clint jumped on his shoulders and used the handcuffs like a rope to strangle the man he was on. Natasha smirked at Clint using her signature move.

As the other man came to help his comrade, Clint twisted his body on the soldier so that he twisted with Clint and totally flung himself onto the other soldier. During the hard collision, Clint had managed to safely remove himself from the man he was strangling. When he was sure that everyone was taken out, he nodded at his work before walking over to Natasha to remove the handcuffs.

"Your last move looked familiar."

"I may have learned it from some assassin. You may have heard of her."

"Oh, yeah? What's her name?"

"She calls herself the Black Widow. I guess she's pretty badass."

She smiled at him before she got the handcuffs off. Clint looked around, it seemed like their work here was done. As the Avengers began their walk back to the tower, Bucky grabbed Clint's wrist and pulled him back. It was just the two of them and Clint didn't know if he liked it or not yet. He looked at Bucky and he looked nervous, it clearly took a lot out of him to make a move like this on Clint after everything he did.

Bucky pulled out a piece of paper, it looked like it had tear stains on it, too. Clint listened intently as Bucky read from the paper but also looking up every now and then, "Clint, as I sit here thinking of my actions, I need to write this apology. I am incredibly embarrassed and ashamed of the past 3 months of lies and cheating, more importantly the embarrassment, and unequivocal hurt and sadness it has brought to you. It is so hard to think of the tremendous damage I have caused to break apart every good thing you were trying to build for us and our future."

"I take full responsibility for what I have done, and do truly want what is best for the entirety of you. You are right, I should have been faithful and been a man, and I am going to act like one and own what is mine. What I did was the dumbest and most selfish thing a person could do, and I will never do it again. These are my words, which probably don't mean much to you now, but I will show you. You will say you've heard this a thousand times, but I will for once prove it to you, even if it means we are not together."

Tears were starting to come down both of their faces after that and more came when Bucky continued, "Anyone would be lucky to have you, and I will be working toward deserving that once again if you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I do love you. I have so much to learn, I want to be a person you can trust in and find love in once again. I so often have been ready to just fall into the dark pit of despair and give up, but miraculously I saw a hand in the darkness, saying hold on and fight. Your hand."

Bucky's hands were shaking as he read the last part of the letter, "You are more than I could have ever imagined, and I have been so blind. You were right before my eyes and I walked right through you, on you. You don't deserve that. You deserve to be equally lifted and not brought down, a hand reaching out to you saying let's walk side by side, not one in front of the other. I'm so sorry. I am so, so sorry, Clint. Forever regretful and sorry, Bucky."

The soldier looked up from the paper and that's when two arms wrapped around him, causing him to instantly wrap his arms around Clint's waist. The two just stood there sobbing into each other, holding each other like they were each other's lifeline, and they honestly were. When they pulled away, Clint leaned in and kissed him. The kiss was desperate but they put so much passion and love into it that when they pulled away, they were almost breathless.

"I forgive you, I forgive you… just please don't do it again… it hurt so much, Bucky…"

"God, I'm so sorry, sweetheart, I'm so sorry. I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you."

"You fucking better make it up to me." Clint laughed with a sad yet also happy smile.

"I will, I promise I will… I was so scared I'd lose you… I love you more than anything…"

Bucky pulled Clint as close as he could to his body, loving the feel of his lover against him again and in his arms again. Bucky kissed his archer's head, smiling as he heard Clint whisper into his chest, "Can we just hold each other for the rest of our lives?" Clint felt tears fall down his cheeks as he heard Bucky answer him softly, "That's the plan, sweetheart, that's the plan, now."

 _Three Months Later…._

"I'm nervous."

Clint was fixing Bucky's tie when he heard his lover say that. The archer stopped and looked up at Bucky. The Avengers were going to be on some lady's talk show for an interview on their lives and relationships and Bucky was scared of that since he cheated on Clint. Things were much better now, but Bucky knew Clint didn't trust him like he used to and he understood not everything can go back to normal after what he did.

Before Clint could say anything, they were being dragged out and pushed on stage with the other Avengers. Clint grabbed Bucky's human hand and squeezed it as all the Avengers put on smiles and waved at the crowd. They all walked over to the couches, one was taller than the other so you could still see the Avengers behind the lower couch. Tony, Steve, Natasha, and Bruce sat on the higher couch in that order while Clint, Bucky, and Thor were on the lower one.

A tall woman with long, straight black hair walked on stage and quieted the audience down before sitting in a single couch next to the Avengers. She had a dazzling smile and the brightest green eyes any of them had ever seen. She smiled at them, getting straight to the point as she bluntly asked them, "Hi, I'm Molly Lynn Hastings, nice to meet you all. So, who are the couples here? I bet Tony Stark knows all the details here."

The audience laughed, as well as the Avengers, before Tony explained with a small smile, "Well, Steve and I are the best couple around, in my opinion since I'm the most beautiful Avenger here." Everyone laughed again when Clint did a fake yawn and mumbled loud enough for everyone to hear, "Ahhh, bitch, please, I'm flawless." Clint received a light smack to the back of the head from Tony.

Tony smiled as he continued more seriously this time, "Steve and I, AKA Stony, have been together for about a year and a half now, so I mean, we're not the longest couple around but we aren't brand new like Bruce and Natasha over here." Tony gestured to the two people on the other side of Steve, who then leaned into each other to play the part of a happy couple before smiling at each other fondly.

"And how long have you two been together for?"

Bruce looked at Natasha as she answered with a smile, "We've been together for about six months now, so we aren't _that_ new." Molly smiled at her before asking, "If Steve and Tony aren't the longest and neither are you two, who is the longest lasting couple among the Avengers? Who is the power couple among you seven powerful super people, hmm?"

Steve smiled as he clasped Bucky's shoulders and rubbed them, saying, "Well, that would have to be my best friend, the sassiest sniper ever, James "Bucky" Barnes…" Clint reached his hand behind him to get a high five from Tony as the billionaire finished with a smile of his own, "And my best friend, the ever sassy archer, Clint "Hawkeye" Barton. Been together for two years and three months and together they are… Winterhawk."

"Winterhawk?"

"Yeah, you know Winter Soldier and Hawkeye combined? Winterhawk."

Molly kept her eyes trained on Clint and Bucky as she asked, "I have heard that there have actually been some complications surrounding your relationship, care to give us some insight on this?" Bucky stiffened and Clint squeezed his hand to comfort him a little more. Clint gave Bucky a gentle look that told him, _you don't have to talk about it… we don't have to tell her anything._

Bucky squeezed the hand back before answering her shakily, "Clint and Natasha were away on a mission. They had been gone for three months and… it was a moment of weakness but I… during those three months I had cheated on Clint with three different guys… one of which Clint caught me with when he came home from the mission… I regret what I did and I regret hurting the love of my life…"

The audience looked ready to attack Bucky but Molly raised an eyebrow at them and they all settled down. Before she could ask the obvious question, Clint stated firmly, "Yes, I stayed with him. You can all call me an idiot for it but I don't care. This love is the only love I have ever known and I'll be damned if I just threw it away because I don't think I could ever love again if I left him. You can all say I'm stupid but I don't care. I love him." Clint looked into Bucky's eyes and smiled, "I love you, Bucky."

Suddenly, the audience started clapping for them. Some people even stood up and clapped, causing the rest of the audience to follow in suit. The Avengers on stage even stood up and applauded the couple. Molly finally smiled and clapped but then started to calm everyone down just in time for them to see Bucky shake his head and reply to his lover with a smile, "I love you, too."

After about twenty minutes of what felt like interrogation to the Avengers, a piano was rolled out onto the stage with a bench in front of it. Everyone looked at each other in confusion until Clint stood up and walked over to the piano and sat down at the bench. Molly watched him feel the keys of the piano as she smiled, "Hawkeye can do more than shoot arrows, he can sing! So, to finish the show, the world's greatest archer is going to sing for us!"

"This is a song I wrote about Bucky…"

Everyone got quiet when they heard Clint play the piano and sing beautifully, _"Everybody needs inspiration…. everybody needs a song… a beautiful melody when the night's so long cause there is no guarantee that this life is easy…."_ The next thing anybody knew, a band with people playing the guitar and drums came strolling out near Clint to accompany him with the rest of the song.

Clint turned his head and looked right at Bucky, smiling at him as he sang with amazing vocals, _"When my world is falling apart, when there's no light to break up the dark that's when I, I, I look at you… when the waves are flooding the shore and I can't find my way home anymore that's when I, I, I look at you..."_ Everyone couldn't help but feel touched by that, especially Bucky.

Clint refused to take his eyes off of his lover as he continued to sing with that warm smile plastered on his face, _"When I look at you I see forgiveness… I see the truth… you love me for who I am like the stars hold the moon right there where they belong and I know I'm not alone, yeah…"_ Natasha smiled at Clint, happy he had found someone to share his life with so he wouldn't feel alone anymore.

The drums and guitar were kicking in more than they had been before, making the music to Clint's song sound perfect for swaying back and forth as the archer resang the chorus, _"When my world is falling apart, when there's no light to break up the dark that's when I, I, I look at you… when the waves are flooding the shore and I can't find my way home anymore that's when I, I, I look at you..."_

Suddenly, all the music stopped. Clint smiled and shook his head before the music came back and started to get louder and louder as Clint's vocals got stronger and stronger, _"You appear just like a dream to me just like kaleidoscope colors that cover me… all I need, every breath that I breathe…"_ Clint looked right into Bucky's eyes as he sang with everything he had, _"Don't you know you're beautiful? Yeah, yeah!"_

A tear fell down Natasha's face and tears filled the rest of the Avenger's eyes hearing Clint give everything as he sang to Bucky, " _When the waves are flooding the shore and I can't find my way home anymore that's when I, I, I look at you... I look at you, yeah…"_ The music slowly started to die down, and that's when Clint walked right over to Bucky, who stood up before his smaller lover.

" _You appear just like a dream to me…"_

When the song was over, everyone in the room stood up and applauded Clint's song, tears falling down just about everyone's faces. Now they all knew just how much Bucky meant to Clint. Now they knew just why he couldn't even think about leaving Bucky. They needed each other. Bucky wrapped his arms around Clint's waist and pulled him in, Clint wrapping his arms around Bucky's neck as they kissed in front of everyone. Nothing else mattered but each other.

 _That Night…._

Clint knew Bucky still felt bad about what he did. He could tell by how Bucky refused to leave his side. He could tell by the way Bucky touched him, those sweet little caresses and touches he would only save for Clint. He could tell by the way Bucky didn't push to have sex like he used to. And he could tell by the way Bucky would wake up from a nightmare and touch Clint's skin, making sure he was sleeping next to Clint and not someone else.

Clint woke to Bucky touching his skin again. He opened his eyes and turned to face his lover, that depressing look in Bucky's eyes again. Bucky had nightmares that he would cheat on Clint and lose him for good this time. Clint always reassured him that that would never happen since Bucky was always with Clint and he knew that the soldier would never do something like that ever again.

This had to happen about twice a week, Bucky waking up scared and sad from a nightmare. Clint would always do the same thing to calm him down and get him back to sleep. Clint laid on his back and Bucky snuggled up beside him, head on Clint's chest to listen to his heartbeat and a possessive arm wrapped around the archer. Yes, Clint was the "little spoon" and the "girl" in the relationship so it should be the other way around. But Clint knew Bucky needed this.

In the morning, their positions would be switched, neither knowing how it really happened but they never questioned it. Then, Clint did what he always would do to calm Bucky down and get him to sleep: sing. Clint sang to his lover softly, _"If you be my star, I'll be your sky. You can hide underneath me and come out at night when I turn jet black and you show off your light… I live to let you shine… I live to let you shine…"_

Suddenly, Natasha sleepily trudged into their room and crawled into bed right beside the open side of Clint. She must have had a bad dream and wandered out and heard Clint singing. Clint smiled and kept on singing, _"But you can skyrocket away from me and never come back if you find another galaxy far from here with more room to fly… just leave me your stardust to remember you by…"_

The door opened again, revealing a sluggish Tony, who snuck onto the bed in between Natasha and Clint's legs. The genius wrapped an arm around Clint's leg, causing the archer to keep smiling as he went on, _"If you be my boat, I'll be your sea, a depth of pure blue just to probe curiosity. Ebbing and flowing and pushed by a breeze… I live to make you free… I live to make you free…"_

Steve was the next one to slowly make their way in, filling in the other open space in between Bucky and Clint's legs. He wrapped an arm around Clint's legs but managed to also touch Tony's arm. Clint smiled at sight before continuing, _"But you can set sail to the west if you want to and pass the horizon till I can't even see you. Far from here, where the beaches are wide… just leave me your wake to remember you by…"_

Clint was humming, wondering when Bruce and Thor would come strolling in and, as if on cue, the scientist and the god stumbled in. Bruce found some space behind Natasha so he could spoon her. Clint almost gasped when he felt Bruce's hand reach over Natasha and touch his arm, which was being hugged by the female assassin. Thor shamelessly spooned Bucky, but made sure he had a hand on Clint's stomach.

The archer looked around at everyone. They all made sure they were all touching him in some way and it made him feel wanted, like they needed him. They did need him. They would never tell Clint, but he was the heart of the team. He had been through so much, physically, mentally, and emotionally. But he was still smiling and being sassy as ever. Clint smiled, this must be what it feels like to belong.

He saw some of them shift around, as if they couldn't truly fall asleep without hearing Clint singing them to sleep. Clint started to feel everyone settle more when he started to sing where he left off, _"If you be my star, I'll be your sky. You can hide underneath me and come out at night when I turn jet black and you show off your light. I live to let you shine… I live to let you shine…"_

Tony and Steve held onto Clint's legs tighter in their sleep, smiles even coming onto their faces. He could feel Bucky and Natasha's even breathing and Thor was starting to lightly snore. Bruce must have been asleep, too, but Clint wasn't going to question it as he continued, _"But you can skyrocket away from me and never come back if you find another galaxy far from here with more room to fly… just leave me your stardust to remember you by…"_

When Clint was certain that everyone was asleep, he let himself relax around everyone and close his eyes so he, too, could sleep. After everything that had happened to him, this is where Clint wanted to be. In a bed that could fit all of the seven Avengers, surrounded by his family and lover. Clint had never felt so at peace and happy before in his life. He smiled as he started to drift off into sleep.

" _Stardust to remember you by…"_

 _THE END!_ Okay, I've been working on this one for a while now so I'm beyond happy I can finally get it out here! I wanted to make this a combination of hurt/comfort, romance, friendship, and family so hopefully I did a good enough job there! I needed songs in this story so please don't hate me for putting some in there! Sorry for any mistakes, too!

 _Songs used in order of appearance: "Say My Name" by Destiny's Child, "Jolene" by Dolly Parton, "Cold Shoulder" by Adele, "When I Look At You" by Miley Cyrus, & "Boats and Birds" by Gregory and The Hawk._

 _I strongly suggest you listen to "Boats and Birds" when I have it written in the story!_

 _Don't forget to favorite, follow, and review! Thank you for everything!_


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